2026 Emerging and Frontier Markets Opportunities Conference — Key takeaways from the panel discussions: Macro uncertainty met by expectations of near-term resilience

J.P. Morgan hosted its 2026 Emerging and Frontier Markets Opportunities Conference in London on 15-17 September, attracting close to 900 investor attendees (a 10% increase from last year), with 20 sovereign and 129 corporate issuers participating. This note summarizes the top takeaways from the panel discussions. Macro uncertainty is met by expectations of near-term resilience on the back of stable fundamentals and supportive technicals, but conviction levels do not seem to be high. Despite worries around rates and the sustainability of AI investments, conference participants were overall constructive, with comfort on fundamentals for both EM sovereigns and corporates and an attractive level of yields still seen as a reason to stay invested, with a bias towards higher-yielding assets including frontier, especially lower-beta names. In sovereigns, the overall tone was constructive despite the tight spread environment, but investors are searching for the next major catalyst;